Courage, Strength and Devotion“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-6) Today, August 15, is the day Lutherans set aside to commemorate Mary, the Mother of Our Lord. I have written about Mary in previous posts: The Magnificat, Mary and Valerie and Luther Speaks: Mary’s Song. At the age of 13-14, Mary was betrothed to the much older carpenter Joseph. The marriage rites had not been completed and they had not lived together as man and wife. An angel of the Lord appeared to Mary and told her that she had found favor with God and would bear a child, the Savior of the World. Her first response is confusion since she was still a virgin. Her perplexity quickly turned to complete obedience to the will of God. “Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’” (Luke 1:38) Mary didn’t know what she was signing up for. Facing public humiliation, divorce, maybe even death, she trusted so completely in the promises of God that she willingly followed God into the great unknown that would be her life. Such courage, strength, and devotion! We have no idea what she knew or didn’t know about what her and her son’s life would be like. What we do know from Scripture is that Mary was there from the beginning to the end of Jesus’ life. She gave him life then stood at the foot of the Cross and watched him die. From her, we learn to place our complete trust in God and surrender our lives to the Son of God. Mary stands as an example to all of us. It is highly unlikely that anyone of us will be chosen for such a monumental task, but we are called into the world to bear witness to the saving grace of Christ on the Cross. In a world that seems to be turning a deaf ear to the message of the Cross, proclamation of the Good News is often challenging, if not nearly impossible. But, we have the Word of the Lord to give us the courage, strength and devotion needed to carry out the task which we have been given: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)Heavenly Father, the choice of Mary to be the mother of our Lord, reflects your love and compassion for the weak, poor, and oppressed. The example of her gracious obedience stands as a testimony to us. Grant us that same measure of grace that we may have the courage, strength and devotion to follow your Son. In His holy name we pray, Amen. Looking to the example of Mary, Sandi